"The contrast between the tense, poised sniper and the legs crossed fighter eating candy on the couch makes me want to know more about this moment. The lush drapes, the chandelier, and the slipcovers give a sense of what this room was and not what it is-a bunker and flophouse for fighters."—Monica Corcoran, senior photo editor

Photograph by Goran Tomasevic, Reuters

That's Gonna Hurt

An extreme closeup shows a female wasp's stinger, which is actually a modified egg-laying organ.

Though wasps are avoided by most people, they're actually beneficial: Nearly every pest insect on Earth is preyed upon by a wasp species, either for food or as a host for its parasitic larvae.

"This calm moment must have seemed surreal in the aftermath of a wildfire. The lighting is almost cinematic."—Chris Combs, news photo editor

Photograph by Pedro Armestre, AFP/Getty Images

Through the Glass

Members of the punk band Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (left), Maria Alyokhina (center), and Yekaterina Samutsevich, sit inside a glass enclosure during a court hearing in Moscow on August 8.

The women, who are charged with hooliganism for staging a "punk prayer" against Russian President Vladimir Putin, were due to deliver final statements on the last day of their trial, according to Agence France-Presse.

Why We Love It

"I love how unfazed the band members are sitting in their glass cage. Neither they nor the rumpled, expressionless guards look to be much of a threat. What are they all thinking?"—Monica Corcoran, senior photo editor

A squirrel stuck in a manhole cover pokes out of a street in Isernhagen, Germany, on August 5. The squirrel was rescued and set free by the police after several attempts using olive oil failed, according to Agence France-Presse.

Family members hold up a mummy before giving it new clothes during a ritual in the Toraja district of Indonesia's South Sulawesi Province on August 23.

The ritual, called Ma'nene, involves changing the clothes of mummified ancestors every three years to honor the deceased. Locals believe dead family members are still with them, even if they died hundreds of years ago, a family spokesperson told Reuters.

"The family members appear so comfortable and at ease beside their long-lost relative, who doesn't look half bad for his age. This image is a great example of how a ritual that may seem shocking and even frightening to some is merely a tradition for others."—Ben Fitch, associate photo editor

Photograph by Yusuf Ahmad, Reuters

Making Hay

Farmer Kari Gisler carries a bundle of hay on a steep hillside in the Swiss village of Flueelen on August 20.

The tradition of wild haying in central Switzerland dates back around two hundred years and is practiced from mid July until mid September on higher terrain that can't be easily reached with animals, according to Reuters.